Broadcasting giants Star India today bagged the media rights of Indian cricket team's bilateral home series as well as domestic cricket for a record Global Consolidated Rights (GCR) bid of Rs 6138.1 crore (USD 944 million approx) for a period of next five years, till 2023.
With the India home cricket rights, Star now has a virtual monopoly in the cricket broadcasting world having bagged the IPL rights for a record Rs 16,347 crore (USD 2.55 billion) bid. They also own the rights for all ICC Tournaments (men's and women's 50-over World Cup, World T20).
The GCR comprise TV broadcast rights as well as digital rights for the Indian subcontinent as well as the Rest of the World (RoW).
Star once again outbid Sony and Reliance Jio as BCCI laughed all the way to the bank, having clinched another billion dollar deal.
The bidding went for three days with the first day ending at Rs 4442 crore while yesterday, it breached the Rs 6000 crore mark.